We Can Change
by Asfixia
Summary: Just Jacob's thoughts when he's mourning his father at the graveyard. Full of wonderful oneshot-ness. Rated K ...? I dunno, there's nothing really bad about it. R&R if you will.


**Disclaimer!**

**I do not own anything affiliated with The Day the Earth Stood Still. **

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________**

_He could do it. He could bring him back. And he could stop this._

Jacob knelt by his father's grave, after having told Klaatu to leave him alone. He had brought the officer back to life with no trouble. He had powers most Earthlings had only heard of in fairytales, but they weren't just fairytales, they existed. It was as if Jacob had lost something, and Klaatu knew where it was, but he would never tell him; he would only keep him searching forever.

Maybe it was all a game to him. But it wasn't to Jacob. It mattered, life mattered - people mattered.

Tears stained his cheeks, slipping down onto his jacket. The Earth seemed to mourn with him. Clouds began to form, wearing their grayest, most saddening cloaks, and the sky darkened. That alien... It wasn't that he hated Klaatu himself; he hated the fact that there were so many circumstances and objectives with him. Couldn't he for once be passionate about something? Of course, Aliens weren't trained with human emotions. And though it hadn't made sense back then, Jacob still remembered what his father had told him.

_Our existance is one massive game of chess...and humans are the pawns. We may think we are powerful, but we are the weakest pieces in the game. Every once in a while another piece will come to put us back in our place. It's for our own good. We have to learn to live with the other pieces, and not try to be superior to everything else. We must stay in line and act right...so you keep that in mind. Bring this up when you're in trouble, and I guarantee you won't get grounded._

Jacob smiled at the last part. Although at the time being grounded wasn't much of a concern. Not when everything else was wrong.

He felt a familiar touch as Helen's arms wrapped around him, making his tears pour onward with no hesitation. "It's not fair," he mumbled. The moisture from his tears were leaving water stains on Helen's jacket. He rested his chin on her shoulder, returning the hug.

"No, it isn't fair," she agreed.

Jacob still wasn't convinced. "He left me alone."

"You're not alone."

Helen pulled back, putting her hands firmly on his shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. She was determined to convince him everything would be okay; Even if that was a lie. "And he didn't leave you. I see him in you." Now she was seeking comfort in her own words. "All the time."

Jacob sniffed, continuing to cry silently.

"All the time. Sometimes it's hard for me too, bud."

"You miss him too?"

Helen found her own tears forming behind her eyes. She shook her head ever so gently. "So much."

The two of them nodded. Leaves stirred around them. The breeze turned into a mild wind, chilling enough to break through Jacob's jacket. It made goosebumps rise on his skin, but he ignored them, looking directly into Helen's eyes, at her dead-serious expression.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry," Jacob repeated back to her.

They re-established their hug. Helen rocked back and forth softly with Jacob in her arms, the tears she was holding back stinging at her eyes.

The graveyard was ever so quiet again.

Klaatu had witnessed the entire scene. Human emotions can be so interesting, he thought to himself. Not having many feelings of his own increased the desire to study them. He headed toward the two mourning humans, his footsteps silent on the autumn blanket of leaves.

Helen looked up at him.

The sound of a cardoor closing reached their ears. Klaatu looked at the source of the noise with undefined confusion.

"It's Michael," Helen explained. "He's here to help."

_That's not it_, Klaatu thought to himself. "There's another sign to you," he warned. "I can feel it now."

Jacob looked in the direction the alien was looking. Now he knew why the skies were darkening - a swarm of black dots filled the sky, sounding like a pile of ruffled metal being carried by the wind. Helen looked from Jacob to Klaatu. "Is...is that how it ends?"

The alien turned to face her. He answered in a flat tone, as if it were a simple fact. "Yes."

"You can't stop it?"

Helen's face held the emotions of scare and surprise. He was getting better at reading those now. Not wanting to face her directly, Klaatu turned to face the approaching swarm. "I don't know." But as the swarm drew closer, he made a realization. Turning back to Helen, he continued, "It would come at a price. To you and your way of life."

"But we can change," Helen pressed on. "You know that now. Please. Just give us a chance."

There was no time left to debate. "I'll try."

A smile of gratitude spread across Helen's face. Jacob didn't look up at the alien. He kept his face pressed into Helen's jacket for most of the time.

"But I have to get back to the city."


End file.
